Goodreads

Posts Tagged ‘title’

It has been the same story for many years now. Panathinaikos and Olympiakos face each other in the Athenian derby, but the ball changes pitch and the real game is played by the so called “fans”…

The match of Super League in OAKA has turned violent and was called off in the 82nd minute, with Olympiakos leading 1-0 on a goal in the 51st minute from Djamel Abdoun, after being interrupted twice because of crowd violence. Flares, molotovs and missiles were thrown to policemen, fans set fire to seats in the upper and lower decks, petrol bombs exploded close to the pitch, plus the stadium’s electronic scoreboard caught fire and was damaged.

The result? Fifty seven people have been detained and a further 20 arrested, while nine police officers were injured. Clashes started before the game, when fans without tickets tried to enter the stadium, where Athens Olympic Games were successfully held.

Some say that this was to blame for the riots, as OAKA was never built to host soccer matches. On the other hand, “The violence may have been partly provoked by the heavy police presence,” one fan said. Moreover, “When these groups can get away with such things, it is because they were able to get away with them in the past, with no one being punished,” Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis admitted on local television.

Broadcaster NovaSports did not show any of the mentioned images and only focused on the match, saying that it will continue to isolate violent scenes and any message irrelevant to football.

Rules hold that if a match is abandoned due to crowd cause, penalties for the accused team include 0 point for the game, a fine ranging from 120,000 to 180,000 euros and probably point penalty.Olympiakos is already ahead in the score board so, Sunday’s “result” could seal the title.

A detail unmentioned? Panathinaikos fans were only allowed to attend the game…